School of Law (Trinity College, Dublin)
Encyclopedia
School of Law at Trinity College, Dublin
is the oldest established law school in Ireland
. It teaches law
to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as conducting legal research and holding conferences.
There are approximately four hundred undergraduate students and one hundred postgraduate students in the Law School. It is also home to the Irish Centre for European Law and publishes the Dublin University Law Journal. The Law School is located in House 39 on New Square.
or solicitor
. In each year, there are approximately ninety students taken on to the LL.B. course. Trinity also offers degrees in Law and French (the LL.B. (ling. franc.)), Law and German (the LL.B. (ling. germ.)), Law and Business (LL.B. Bus) and Law and Political Science (LL.B. Pol. Science)
.
Postgraduate students, who already hold a law degree, can study for the LL.M., which is a one-year taught course, or either an M.Litt. or Ph.D.
, which are conducted by research. Finally, the LL.D. is an honour reserved for outstanding legal academics.
Mentoring
Freshman law students can also choose to take a language course in the university.
Sophisters choose four subjects in each of the two years from a wide range of options including commercial law
, tax law
, human rights law, corporate governance
and criminology
. They are also entitled to take a module in a different field under Trinity’s Broad Curriculum programme. The marks obtained over the two final years count equally for the final degree grade.
The Law School does not operate in semesters, so the examinations are all at the end of the year, in the May-June period. The only exception is the foundation scholarship exam, which Senior Freshmen may elect to sit in order to win a scholarship. Many subjects allocate part of the grade for a major assignment submitted during the year.
or Erasmus
exchanges with European universities and other reciprocal exchange agreements with universities in Canada, Finland and the USA. The Law School has exchange agreements with the following universities:
and constitutional law
of the relevant jurisdiction
. It is obligatory for students on these courses to spend their third year on a Socrates exchange, where they study a range of law subjects in a French or German university. The marks obtained abroad count for 35% of a law and language student’s degree grade. There are traditionally twelve places every year on each of these courses, however sixteen places were offered on the Law and German programme and thirteen places for Law and French for the academic year 2007-8. It is unclear whether this arrangement is to continue.
and Professor William Binchy are known to the public for their involvement in political campaigns.
Past holders of the Reid Professorship in Criminal Law, currently held by Ivana Bacik, include former Presidents of Ireland, Mary Robinson
and Mary McAleese
.
(European Law Students’ Association). The Law Society publishes student articles in the Trinity College Law Review. Many law students are active in the Hist
and Phil
and participate in debates and mooting competitions, such as the European Law Moot Court.
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
is the oldest established law school in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It teaches law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as conducting legal research and holding conferences.
There are approximately four hundred undergraduate students and one hundred postgraduate students in the Law School. It is also home to the Irish Centre for European Law and publishes the Dublin University Law Journal. The Law School is located in House 39 on New Square.
Degrees
Its principal undergraduate degree is the four-year LL.B.. This is an academic law degree, after which the holder must undertake external vocational training in order to become a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
or solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
. In each year, there are approximately ninety students taken on to the LL.B. course. Trinity also offers degrees in Law and French (the LL.B. (ling. franc.)), Law and German (the LL.B. (ling. germ.)), Law and Business (LL.B. Bus) and Law and Political Science (LL.B. Pol. Science)
.
Postgraduate students, who already hold a law degree, can study for the LL.M., which is a one-year taught course, or either an M.Litt. or Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, which are conducted by research. Finally, the LL.D. is an honour reserved for outstanding legal academics.
The LL.B.
In the freshman years of the LL.B., students study eight obligatory core law subjects:- The Irish Legal System (
- Legal Skills
- Torts
- Constitutional lawConstitutional lawConstitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
I - Criminal lawCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
- ContractContractA contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
law - Administrative Law
- Private Law Remedies
- Equity
- Land law
- European Union lawEuropean Union lawEuropean Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
- Constitutional law II
Mentoring
Freshman law students can also choose to take a language course in the university.
Sophisters choose four subjects in each of the two years from a wide range of options including commercial law
Commercial law
Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...
, tax law
Tax law
Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.-Major issues:Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
, human rights law, corporate governance
Corporate governance
Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...
and criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
. They are also entitled to take a module in a different field under Trinity’s Broad Curriculum programme. The marks obtained over the two final years count equally for the final degree grade.
Coursework
Each subject has two hours of lectures per week throughout the year. There are also seminars attended by groups of ten students. Freshman subjects have six seminars of one hour in length throughout the year. For sophister subjects, the number of seminars varies.The Law School does not operate in semesters, so the examinations are all at the end of the year, in the May-June period. The only exception is the foundation scholarship exam, which Senior Freshmen may elect to sit in order to win a scholarship. Many subjects allocate part of the grade for a major assignment submitted during the year.
International study
Junior Sophisters may study abroad for their third year on an exchange. Trinity has both SocratesSocrates programme
The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which ran until 2006...
or Erasmus
Erasmus programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
exchanges with European universities and other reciprocal exchange agreements with universities in Canada, Finland and the USA. The Law School has exchange agreements with the following universities:
- AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
- Johannes Kepler University, LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
- Johannes Kepler University, Linz
- BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
- Leuven UniversityKatholieke Universiteit LeuvenThe Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
- Leuven University
- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- Osgoode Hall Law SchoolOsgoode Hall Law SchoolOsgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
- Osgoode Hall Law School
- FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- University of HelsinkiUniversity of HelsinkiThe University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
- University of Helsinki
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- Montesquieu University – Bordeaux IVMontesquieu University – Bordeaux IVMontesquieu University – Bordeaux IV is a French university, based in Pessac, the suburbs of Bordeaux, in the domaine universitaire. It is under the Academy of Bordeaux....
http://www.u-bordeaux4.fr/ - University of Caen Lower Normandy
- Paris II
- University of PoitiersUniversity of PoitiersThe University of Poitiers is a university in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and...
http://www.univ-poitiers.fr/ - Institut d'Études Politiques de ParisInstitut d'Études Politiques de ParisThe Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
(Sciences Po)
- Montesquieu University – Bordeaux IV
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- University of Erlangen-Nuremberg http://www.uni-erlangen.de/
- Hamburg UniversityUniversity of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
- Humboldt University, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Mainz University
- University of WürzburgUniversity of WürzburgThe University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/ - Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
- ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- University of BolognaUniversity of BolognaThe Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
http://www.unibo.it/Portale/default.htm
- University of Bologna
- The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
- Leiden University
- SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- University of GranadaUniversity of GranadaThe University of Granada is a public university located in Granada, Spain that enrolls approximately 80,000 students. The university also has campuses in Ceuta and Melilla. Every year, over 2,000 European students enroll in the UGR through the Erasmus Programme, making it the most popular...
http://www.ugr.es/
- University of Granada
- The United States of AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
- Washington and Lee UniversityWashington and Lee UniversityWashington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
- Emory University
The law and language degrees
The degrees in law and French and law and German were created in 1993. They are taught in conjunction with Trinity’s French and German departments. They are modelled on the LL.B., but also include study of the relevant language and civilisation and the civilCivil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
and constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
of the relevant jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
. It is obligatory for students on these courses to spend their third year on a Socrates exchange, where they study a range of law subjects in a French or German university. The marks obtained abroad count for 35% of a law and language student’s degree grade. There are traditionally twelve places every year on each of these courses, however sixteen places were offered on the Law and German programme and thirteen places for Law and French for the academic year 2007-8. It is unclear whether this arrangement is to continue.
Staff
The staff of the Law School includes a number of well-known Irish legal academics and authors of leading textbooks. The current Head of the Law School is Professor Hilary Biehler. A number of lecturers, including Professor Ivana BacikIvana Bacik
Ivana Catherine Bacik is an Irish politician and academic. She has been Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College, Dublin Law School since 1996, and was a made a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 2005. She was elected a Senator for the University of Dublin...
and Professor William Binchy are known to the public for their involvement in political campaigns.
Past holders of the Reid Professorship in Criminal Law, currently held by Ivana Bacik, include former Presidents of Ireland, Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
and Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
.
Student societies
A number of TCD student societies are particularly oriented towards law students. These are the Dublin University Law Society, FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres)http://www.csc.tcd.ie/~flac and the local branch of ELSAELSA - The European Law Students' Association
The European Law Students' Association is an international, independent, non-political, non-profit organisation run by and for law students...
(European Law Students’ Association). The Law Society publishes student articles in the Trinity College Law Review. Many law students are active in the Hist
College Historical Society (Trinity College, Dublin)
The College Historical Society is one of two main debating societies at Trinity College, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. It was established within the college in 1770, but traces its origins to the society founded by the philosopher Edmund Burke in Dublin in 1747...
and Phil
University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin)
The University Philosophical Society, commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. It is one of the two debating societies in the university...
and participate in debates and mooting competitions, such as the European Law Moot Court.